Senate Votes to Expand Whistle-Blower Rights
The Senate voted to expand the rights of whistle-blowers late Monday evening, joining the House in passing similar legislation, which will have to be reconciled before going to the President for his signature, the Washington Post reports. Similar legislation proposed over the last six years has been opposed by the Department of Justice, although this legislation may have enough support to override a presidential veto.
According to the Government Accountability Project, the legislation “plugs a government accountability loophole created last year when the Supreme Court’s Garcetti v. Ceballos decision canceled constitutional free speech rights for government workers carrying out their job duties.” ACSblog summarized the Garcetti decision here and discussed the role of whistle-blowers here.
The bill protects federal employments who disclose information, permits employees to share classified information with members of Congress, and protects whistle-blowers whose have their security clearances revoked in retaliation for the disclosure, according to the article.
The legislation would also allow federal employees to challenge administrative rulings in their local federal appeals court instead of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.